After shouting out Noir's battle with Starlight in Vought Tower, Mitchell zooms in on Noir's sequence in the first episode of the second season, where he's sent to terminate the super terrorist Naqib. He proceeds through the hideout with extreme prejudice. "You have him ripping someone to shreds, multiple people, severing someone's head, not thinking twice about it," Mitchell says.
As he's leaving, holding Naqib's severed head, he encounters a young boy. Noir takes the child's stuffed rabbit and bounces it back and forth in a little dance, accompanying it with a rhythmic exhalation that's about the closest he comes to dialogue. "There's this ruthless, killing machine who does something like adorable, quirky, and out of place in one sequence and that's quintessential Noir to me," Mitchell says.
After all, when he's not disemboweling his enemies, Noir is also shown performing an elaborate tea ceremony. He plays proficient concert piano. He falls asleep in meetings. He has trouble flagging down a waiter carrying a tray of hors d'oeuvres. He's human, and his ultimate weakness derives from this humanity: a tree nut allergy (that he shares with Mitchell).
Homelander (Antony Starr) confirmed that Black Noir's close encounter with an Almond Joy didn't kill him, but considering it did leave him comatose, it would be tough to argue it made him stronger. Fans will have to wait to see if Black Noir recovers when The Boys returns for its third season.
